Hat-trick hero Danny Graham has promised the Swansea City faithful an attacking policy at the Liberty Stadium over the forthcoming Barclays Premier League campaign.
Graham grabbed a hat-trick in the opening pre-season friendly win (4-2) over Blackpool on Tuesday night in an overall team display that had plenty of encouraging signs for new boss Michael Laudrup.
“We’ve been working hard in training on attacking teams more than we did last season,’’ explained Graham. “It seemed to work today.
“Over the course of the pre-season we’ve got better with each game. Today was better than our last one in America, which is a good sign.
“After America, it was nice to be back at home and playing in-front of our own fans again. There were over 8,000 here for a pre-season friendly and to win 4-2 is great. It was good to put on a show for them and now we need to push on with another good performance against Stuttgart on Saturday.’’
And Graham will be determined to keep the goals flowing ahead of the big kick-off at QPR on August 18.
“It was nice to get the hat-trick; nice to score goals 10 days from the start of the season,’’ he added. “I’ve also got another 70 minutes under my belt which is important for that match sharpness. I’ve felt better with every game and every training session.
“QPR can’t come quick enough. Nothing beats the start of the new campaign because that’s what we work hard for over the pre-season – that 3pm kick-off on the first Saturday of the season.
“We want to build on what we achieved last season. We know it’s going to be tough, but I’m sure if we play like we did against Blackpool then we will win more than we lose.’’
Meanwhile, young striker Rory Donnelly will return to his old club Cliftonville tonight (7.45pm) in a pre-season friendly agreed as part of his transfer to the Swans last season.
Kristian O’Leary has taken an under-21 team to Northern Ireland to face the former IFA Premiership Champions. Full match details will be on the official site.